00:00So I'm Sam Fagan, Managing Director Commercial at our family business Fagan & Worley.
00:15We're a 7th generation logistics company operating out of Burnley as our head office,
00:21it's where we've been for the past 98 years, but multiple depots across the country as
00:26well to support our delivery network.
00:27I thought the event was fantastic, it was really good, it got a lot of people into the
00:31room, a lot of businesses from the area and also some I think not from the area as well.
00:36Some really good conversations, the first panel was excellent about education, investment
00:41in the area, the new university in Burnley is something that's really kicked the area
00:46off really and sort of give it a place on the map for education.
00:50And then the second panel as well with the local business was good to hear from different
00:53businesses, some family businesses, some that have got private equity investment and
00:59it was just a fantastic event to hear so many diverse ranges of people's experiences, business
01:05experiences.
01:06I think the strength of Burnley is about our people, the people of Burnley, the people
01:10of Lancashire, we're a group of people that are friendly, wanting to do business, wanting
01:15to talk, there's nothing really off the table when you want to meet, people will meet just
01:20for a chat because there might be something in it from a business point of view, from
01:23an investment point of view maybe.
01:28We operate in other areas of the country, we're in the Midlands, we're in Coventry,
01:32we've got a depot in South Wales as well, in Newport and there's nothing like Burnley
01:37when it comes to people wanting to talk, wanting to get together, wanting to fill a room like
01:40we have done today.
01:41So hi, I'm Cathy Jackson, I'm the Pro Vice Chancellor of Health and Campus Development
01:46at the University of Central Lancashire.
01:50I think the event was great today to get that mixing of minds from all sorts of different
01:55areas coming together to discuss Burnley and the future of Burnley and how we can help
02:00Burnley develop.
02:01So at UCLan's involvement in Burnley we've grown since 2008 when we first came, certainly
02:09in the last 10 years the numbers have grown and grown and grown and what we have been
02:14able to do is look at the work skills shortage, so originally in health but also in areas
02:21of engineering, business and to develop those areas and as the numbers have grown we've
02:26got better and better facilities, we've been working very closely with the council and
02:30Burnley College to look at that educational piece in Burnley and not just for Burnley
02:37but bringing people into Burnley, so now bringing people in from all over the world to Burnley
02:42to come and study here, they love Burnley, once they get here they love Burnley, it's
02:48a great place what's not to love and we're looking to develop that further, working with
02:53the businesses, working with the region, working with the council, working with the NHS to
02:59look at how we can create that sustainable pipeline of skilled workers and help Burnley
03:06and the surrounding areas to develop and grow.
03:09I love Burnley, I love Burnley, I didn't know Burnley very well until about 10 years
03:14ago but what I like about Burnley is it's a real community and it's not just a real
03:20community of people but it's a real community of businesses and everybody's pulling in the
03:25same direction, it's a joy to work in Burnley because it's a very good place for getting
03:31things done and so if you've got a good idea, you've got an idea you want to develop in
03:37any way, it doesn't matter what it is, Burnley's a magnificent place for making it happen,
03:43the wraparound is phenomenal, so it's a really exciting, buzzy place.
03:48So I'm Neil Welsh, I'm the financial planner for event sponsors PM&M, or one of the event
03:53sponsors PM&M, so working on the financial planning side but working alongside my colleagues
03:58on the accountancy and corporate finance side.
04:02Yesterday has been superb, I'm a huge advocate of all things Burnley anyway, coming from
04:08the town, having worked in and around for all of my life, and I thought the panel did
04:14a really good job of bringing that all together, as Luckman alluded to, there was a generation
04:23that saw a shrink in Burnley with the loss of Lucas, Michelin and other larger employers
04:31and the narrative for a number of years was one that the town had at the very least shrunk
04:37if not died, so to be involved in the resurgence of that, with PM&M being bondholders and almost
04:47being then the ambassadorial advocates of the town and its industries, and the way that
04:55does combine education with the council and with businesses is hugely important.
05:01So you go and see these local businesses, you come back inspired by what they're doing,
05:07and you go to somewhere like BCW Engineering and you're looking at a 1500kg block of aluminium
05:14that gets 1000kg machined off it and ends up being the landing gear of an Airbus A380,
05:19and these things happen 400m away from the road that you drive past day by day,
05:25it's fascinating stuff. I've seen Mark on the panel from AMS Neve and his involvement in the
05:33town and the music industry, I know they did a lot of work with Joy Division back in the day,
05:39there's that iconic Soundwaves album cover for Transmission, but Burnley has its sound,
05:46those Soundwaves do influence the world. In terms of excitement and inspiration,
05:52I think if I was to pin that on one thing it would be the connection that education brings.
05:58For the last few years I've been invited by Burnley College Themis through Neil Burrows
06:03to be a judge of their Themis Inspire and Achieve awards, and when you're judging the apprentices
06:09and for awards on their absolute talents and passions, you see that conveyor belt of young,
06:19passionate, enthusiastic, talented people coming into the workplace,
06:25it's really exciting to see the awards say Inspire and Achieve, it is inspirational,
06:32you come away from that with a warm glow, knowing that those people will then populate the University
06:38of Lancashire, go on to the businesses in the town, hopefully stay in the town, the future's
06:45bright. I think Burnley's very good, and Bond Hall's very good at speaking with a collective
06:52and loud voice that does get heard, it could get heard more internationally, there is more
07:01opportunity to shout a little bit louder. If there was one accusation it would be that
07:09there's a degree of shouting through your own letterbox, so it's making sure that you're
07:13shouting into the megaphone and you're shouting out into the wider world, but the bigger the noise
07:18you make locally, the further away it's heard, so yeah, it's a balancing act.
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